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Sharovipteryx, a reptilian glider?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Carl Gans,
Ilja Darevski and
Leonid P. Tatarinov
Carl Gans
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Ilja Darevski
Affiliation:
Zoological Institute, 199164 Leningrad, USSR
Leonid P. Tatarinov
Affiliation:
Paleontological Institute, USSR Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 113, 117321 Moscow, USSR
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Abstract

The unique holotype of the Triassic reptile Sharovipteryx (initially Podopteryx) mirabilis has been reexamined and redescribed, correcting the original account. It is a small lizard-like reptile with an elongate head and densely tubular femur and tibia each longer than the (estimated) intergirdle distance. (Part of the pectoral region has been lost and the remnants remain encased in the matrix.) The matrix retains the impression of portions of the integument, including a patagium that reached from the hindlimbs to the base of the tail. Unlike the original account, the patagium did not extend to the pectoral limbs. Experiments with models indicate that Sharovipteryx could have maintained a shallow glide if the femora were held at a shallow angle to the vertebral column and the tibia and feet extended out at right angles to it, thus stretching the integument. The pectoral limbs (with or without a fringing membrane) might have produced a variable canard; alternatively vertical bending of the tail could have applied drag, each making the glide more stable.

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Articles
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Paleobiology , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , Fall 1987, pp. 415 - 426
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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